21 May 2010

as for the process, it involved pulling up the huge azalea bush and all of the ivy vines and weeds rooted and tangled in the entire yard {along with a few concrete slabs --thinking previous owners had a sidewalk at one point?--, several buried wooden planks, a plastic cherub, old bottle caps, and a metal heart that looks to have formerly been a part of a wind chime, among other treasures.}. we then trenched out where the flower beds would eventually go {my mother informed us this is called v-ditching} and leveled the dirt as best we could.

here's another before photo of a different view. at one point there must have been a formal savannah garden here with bricked flower beds, but the brick had fallen apart so much that we decided to tear some of it out to make room for a bigger patio and to create a more unified space in the side yard.

ok and i won't lie, we did have extra help in the form of b's inherited big orange tractor for removing the bricks and leveling dirt.

and once the dirt was level and as free of weeds as we could get it, it was time to lay the sod. and before going any further, i have to send a huge *huge* thank you out to kl, without whom, we could never have finished the job in one day {laying the sod that is. the prep work was over several weekends with help from mom & dad, so thanks to them too!} here's a photo of the sod all stacked up on the pallets. we foolishly thought we'd save money and could easily transport the sod on pallet from the garden store to the bungalow in the back of b's truck. after witnessing the sod turn the truck into quite the low rider within half a second, we decided to spring for the $50 delivery fee.

laying sod is actually a pretty simple task. just outline the area with the sod first and then fill it in. our sod is st. augustine grass, which supposedly thrives in southern hot & humid climates and does well in sun and some shade. it had been pre-fertilized so we just needed to make sure the soil was level and well-tilled.

and here's how the sod has greened everything right up! the dirt area on the right will eventually be a lovely flower bed and the area to the left will eventually be a stone patio. and note the sprinkler -- the biggest challenge with new sod, making sure it's watered enough to take root. so far, so good for the bungalow sod.

and here's another view. here you can see where we kept some of the bricked raised flower beds along the perimeter and how removing some of the brick opened up the yard and allowed for a perfect space for a future patio.